All posts by ihatehardware.

Can I interest you in some Shame Pain?

Aliya and I just hit the sack after finishing the preparations for the Pathways brunch tomorrow (actually, today!).  I’m beat, but this photo cracked me up so I had to post it.  Aliya overheard me talking on the phone to a friend who will remain nameless.  The friend said that she couldn’t have any champagne tomorrow because she embarrassed herself after drinking sangria at the candle party.  Aliya asked me what she did to embarrass herself and I said that maybe she just acted a little silly.  Aliya responded, “Yeah, a lot of your friends act like that sometimes.”

She was very interested in what was going into the pitchers and why one had a red ribbon around it.  Apparently she didn’t think the tags I hung on the handles were sufficient, because I noticed that she added her own labels.  At first I thought the purple one was some sort of judgmental commentary on the consumption of alcoholic beverages before noon on Sunday, but then I realized that she just hasn’t mastered wine list spelling yet.  She was so helpful tonight though…she has actually gotten to the point where she can be an extra pair of hands for me when I’m cooking, and she’s pretty willing to help clean up and get organized.

So if you’re in the neighborhood tomorrow morning and want some “Shame Pain,” stop by.  I will warn you though…some of the other family members don’t share Aliya’s organizational talents, so open closets and doors at your own risk.

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Aliya’s all ready to collect the gifts and distribute the Partylite orders:

If you weren’t convinced that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, here’s Aliya’s schedule of what to wear last week, which she coordinated with Hannah:

When I finished cooking and cleaning up I dragged myself upstairs and found this in Norah’s room.  Ugh.

Thanksgiving 2010

Last Thanksgiving I woke up with the flu.  This Thanksgiving started out in a very similar manner, although luckily it didn’t leave me bedridden for a week like last year.

I woke up with a headache, which happens when I sleep in a funny position – usually because there’s a small person sleeping next to me.  We were headed to my brother & sister-in-law’s in Maine, so I got up early to whip up the dessert I had promised to bring and procrastinated on making.  By 7:30 a.m. the kids were already fighting over what movie they were going to watch on the way to Maine, and that continued for the next 3 hours.  Add in the multiple times I asked them to do each task (get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, pick up crap), and my headache turned into a whopper.

At 10:15 the kids were in the car and we were packing up the last few things, and they started physically beating each other, crying, screeching, and whining.  What about?  About which F-ing movie they were going to watch!  AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

By then  my head was absolutely KILLING me, but we got in the car anyway.  I put in my earplugs and tried to will the headache away, but it got worse and I started feeling nauseous – it had become a migraine.  I was really in a bad way but nobody in the car was taking me seriously until I puked into a zip-lock bag.  While I was yakking, it vaguely registered that Aliya was alarmed, Norah was covering her ears, and Adlani was yelling, “YEAH!  I TRANSFORMED INTO ANOTHER POKEMON!” while playing Nintendo DS.

We stopped at a rest area and I staggered inside, and then we continued on our merry way.  I dozed off and woke up ready for more action – luckily there was an empty cracker box and a leaky bag handy.  Then more dozing and finally we arrived at Josh & Rachael’s, where I stayed in the (cold) car and slept the migraine away until it was time to eat. Amazingly, I felt almost back to normal when Aliya woke me up – I think I had slept for an hour and a half or so.

From then on, it was a great day.  The food was unbelievable, the baby was adorable, and the kids didn’t break anything.  I’m sure it was a loud and hectic afternoon for our hosts and Grandma Katie and Papa John, but I had a lovely time.  The kids passed out almost as soon as we got in the car to come home, and they successfully transferred to bed without getting a second wind.


Ben is headed out early tomorrow morning for a few Black Friday deals…we drove through Shoppers World to see what the lines were like, and at 9 p.m. there were people lined up at Best Buy and Toys-R-Us, including a woman with a very unhappy baby.  I can’t imagine what deal would be good enough for me to sit on the freezing cold sidewalk with my screaming 1-year-old, but to each his (her) own.

Here are some photos from today…please note that the baby did not actually ingest any beer, even though she really wanted to.  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Stick to the Goat at Hand

That’s my new mantra…”Stick to the goat at hand.”  It comes from this article on Oprah.com, and you’ll have to read it to understand why I’m using it several times daily to remind myself not to multitask.

I guess I thought that multitasking was a necessity for me, and since I did it so much I must be really good at it.  Well, with all of the recent brain-study (thanks to my public speaking coach), I started to pay attention to what happens when I think I’m multitasking.

Yesterday I was in a meeting with two people and another one on a speaker phone.  Whenever there were a few moments that the conversation didn’t involve me, I found myself drawn to my phone so I could check my email.  If you had asked me before, I’d tell you that I was able to listen to what was being said and simultaneously skim my email, but what actually happened was that I checked out of the conversation for the few moments I spent on my email.  It happens to me all the time when I’m reading…I start thinking about something else and I realize that I haven’t absorbed anything in the last 4 paragraphs.

I thought I was driven only by the pressure of being overbooked and the desire to be as productive as possible, but according to the goat article, it’s my brain’s fault (again):

“It’s what we all know as multitasking—trying to pay attention to numerous things simultaneously. We claim to do so in the name of efficiency, but some scientists now think the real attraction to multitasking has a lot to do with dopamine, a feel-good neurochemical released when we’re stimulated by new things (say, an unread e-mail message). As Adam Gazzaley, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology, physiology, and psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, explains, “We’re all novelty junkies”—and multitasking, especially the electric kind, is a great way to get a fix.”

I think I may be a dopamine addict.

Admitting you have a problem is the first step, right?  As part of my ongoing self-improvement initiative, I’m going to attempt to stop multitasking – at least the kind that tries to use your brain for two different things.  I still think I can load the dishwasher and talk on the phone, or fold laundry and listen to a conference call.  But other than that, I’m going to stick to the goat at hand.

P.S.  Here’s a good post about multitasking from the Harvard Business Review’s blog.

Zulily

My mom sent me a link for this website (http://www.zulily.com/invite/lgreene153) a few weeks ago and they have REALLY cute and unique stuff for kids, babies, and moms.  Each day there are a bunch of different items available at a discount, and if you sign up to receive their “daily deals” email using the link above, $10 goes into my account!

If you see something you like on a daily deal, snap it up, because there is a limited quantity of each item available.  I bought a couple of Christmas presents today so I guess I’ve officially started my shopping.

All I Want for Christmas…

Dear Santa,

I have been very good this year.  I have done at least 10 loads of laundry each week, filled out almost all required school forms, facilitated Norah’s thyroid removal, worked more than full time, kept the house clean enough to avoid rodent infestation, sent the kids to school daily with all of their private parts covered, packed lunches and snacks as required, participated in various PTO events, donated to charity, performed my wifely duties, and paid most of the bills on time.  I have thought long and hard about what I would like for Christmas, and while a new macro lens is near the top of my list, there is only one thing I REALLY want…one life-changing thing that would make my world nearly perfect.

I would like my family to listen to what I say, and respond appropriately the first time.  That’s it – that’s all I want.  I want to say, “Don’t do that!” and see someone freeze mid-action.  I want instructions to be followed the first time…underwear picked up, food eaten, arguments ended, seatbelts buckled, basic hygiene tasks completed, eyes closed and lights out.  I want to be heard.  That’s all.

If you can’t grant me this Christmas wish, would you please bring me a bullhorn?  Merry Christmas.

Love, Lori